FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & CHARTER
National Writers Union
Usenet newsgroup: alt.union.natl-writers
Maintained by: nwufaq@vicric.com (Vicki Richman)
URL: http://vicric.com/
NWU staff: nwu@nwu.org
NWU URL: http://www.nwu.org/
PART FOUR
Quick Hints: This FAQ is divided into four parts. You are
reading Part Four. The complete contents are
in the first part. This part has only its own
contents.
Question 5.1 is the Charter to alt.union.natl-writers,
with guidelines on posting and advice from Emily
Postliterate. Please read the Charter before you post.
For an NWU membership application, go to
http://www.nwu.org/ or read Part Three.
Note the Last-Modified date above. If this
version is more than 45 days old, it is
obsolete and should be discarded.
NWU-FAQ v. 7.1.9 7.1.9vr-usenet
Copyright 2000 Vicki Richman.
All rights reserved.
******************************************************************
** **
** Permission is hereby granted to copy, reprint and dis- **
** tribute this document without payment or recompense, for **
** noncommercial purposes only. But permission is so granted **
** only for copying the entire text, without changes, dele- **
** tions, editing or cutting. Permission must be sought and **
** received for any commercial use of this text. Any copy **
** must retain the copyright line and this permission notice. **
** **
******************************************************************
PART FOUR
o Section 5: NWU Groups on the Net
5.0. What are the online NWU groups?
5.0.1. What is alt.union.natl-writers?
5.0.2. Vicki again! Don't tell me that any rank-and-filer
may run a BBS forum in the name of the NWU.
5.1. What is the charter of alt.union.natl-writers?
Section 5: NWU Groups on the Net
------------------------------------
5.0. What are the online NWU groups?
------------------------------------
o Usenet
alt.union.natl-writers
The labor movement and the publishing industry;
civil liberties; opposition to censorship;
diversity; the art and business of writing;
trade-unionism.
o E-Mail-List
nwu-chat
The art and business of writing; internal NWU business;
the publishing industry; copyright law; protection of
writing income; job offerings; grievances; press
releases from NWU and sibling groups.
Civil liberties; opposition to censorship; diversity and
support for writers of color, queer writers; the labor
movement in general; announcements of events and
conferences.
To subscribe:
E-mail to: <nwu-chat-subscribe@igc.topica.com>
Leave the subject line and text blank.
To unsubscribe:
E-mail to: <nwu-chat-unsubscribe@igc.topica.com>
Leave the subject line and text blank.
For more information:
//igc.topica.com/lists/nwu-chat@igc.topica.com">http://igc.topica.com/lists/nwu-chat@igc.topica.com
--------------------------------------
5.0.1. What is alt.union.natl-writers?
--------------------------------------
Well, if you continue to Question 5.1, you'll have the
charter for alt.union.natl-writers.
But if you're asking what a Usenet newsgroup is, and what
connection this one has to the union, read on.
The Usenet newsgroup a.u.n-w is by and for members of the
National Writers Union, for other publishing professionals,
for labor unionists and for civil libertarians. It was
created by Vicki Richman, following the example of Allen
Schaaf and his colleagues, who created alt.union.iatse for
the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage
Employees.
The charter for a.u.n-w is the answer to Question 5.1 of
this FAQ.
---------------------------------------------------------
5.0.2. Vicki again! Don't tell me that any rank-and-filer
may run a BBS forum in the name of the NWU.
---------------------------------------------------------
No, of course not. But a.u.n-w is a Usenet newsgroup, and
Usenet is not a BBS forum. Usenet is just another kind of
Internet connection, much like E-mail.
The difference is, instead of delivery to a private mailbox,
Usenet messages are stored in public directories, where any
user on any system may retrieve them. In practice, of
course, there is newsreading software that sorts the
messages according to group, subject, date and other
headers, before displaying them to the curious user. In look
and feel, the newsreader seems to be a proprietary BBS
forum. But the newsreader is not Usenet. Newsreaders vary
from user to user and from site to site.
The messages are passed from site to site. Some are posted
almost instantly. Others may take days to circle the
planet. Some sites save some messages and junk others, but
all messages manage to make their way around the planet.
Just as anyone can send a message, anyone can create a
newsgroup. Anyone can remove a newsgroup. Any site can
accept or reject a newsgroup. Any person who frivolously
creates a newsgroup incurs the wrath of serious Usenet
users, who will outnumber pranksters and remove the
mischievous group.
So, for a newsgroup to survive, it has to be created
according to rules accepted by almost all serious users.
----------------------------------------------------------
5.1. What is the charter of alt.union.natl-writers?
----------------------------------------------------------
CHARTER
Usenet newsgroup, alt.union.natl-writers
Copyright 2000 Vicki Richman.
All rights reserved.
******************************************************************
** **
** Permission is hereby granted to copy, reprint and dis- **
** tribute this document without payment or recompense, for **
** noncommercial purposes only. But permission is so granted **
** only for copying the entire text, without changes, dele- **
** tions, editing or cutting. Permission must be sought and **
** received for any commercial use of this text. Any copy **
** must retain the copyright line and this permission notice. **
** **
******************************************************************
Contents
o Purpose & Mission
o Preferred Netiquette; or Advice from Emily Postliterate
o The NWU Mail-List: nwu-chat
Purpose and Mission
The Usenet newsgroup alt.union.natl-writers is created for
and by members of the National Writers Union (NWU), which is
Local 1981 of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), which is
an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor and
Cogress of Industrial Organizations (AFL/CIO).
The newsgroup is open to all writers, editors, researchers,
digital programmers, multimedia artists, Web authors and
designers, literary agents, publishers, other workers in the
industry, civil libertarians and labor unionists. It is not
limited to NWU members, and no NWU officer or staff member
has any more influence on the newsgroup exchange than any
other Usenet user. There is no pressure or obligation to
join the NWU, but users should expect NWU members to be in
the majority.
Users of alt.union.natl-writers seek to enlighten each other
on the publishing industry, the business and art of writing,
the electronic media, civil-liberty issues, the labor
movement and NWU internal affairs. Posts may contain news,
opinion, grievances, questions, success stories and personal
observations on writing for a living and on union
activities. Employment opportunities may appear from time to
time. NWU officers or staff may also post official NWU press
releases and announcements.
Preferred Netiquette
or Advice from Emily Postliterate
The group alt.union.natl-writers is not moderated. Posts
shall appear without human intervention. Therefore, CHECK
YOUR HEADERS before you post. Your "Newsgroups:" header
should never be longer than about 512 characters and should
typically be no more than a quarter of that length.
(That's *characters*, not words.)
If you are replying to a post with a long "Newsgroups"
header, delete the irrelevant groups. You should never
repeatedly post the same text with different "Newsgroups:"
headers; that's called multi-posting or spamming.
Ask yourselves whether your text would be better privately
E-mailed to one or two recipients than publicly posted for
thousands to read.
Users should avoid chastening an errant poster publicly. If
someone is offensive or off-topic, please correct the
offender by private E-mail. NWU actively supports freedom of
speech and urges users to refrain from taking any other
action against offensive posters than speech in rebuttal. Do
not seek to deny Internet access to any user, as by
appealing to the user's sysadmin, no matter how offensive
the user's mere speech is.
The group alt.union.natl-writers is not a good place to post
samples of one's work or to ask for support in developing
writing skills. There are several other fine Usenet
newsgroups that serve that purpose.
The law and our professional ethics restrain the NWU from
recommending agents or publishers. Individuals should
likewise be so restrained in their public posts to
alt.union.natl-writers. Please use private E-mail for
inquiries or advice on how to get published. However this
group is a good place for posters to discuss promotion and
distribution of works they have already published.
When members, officers and staff discuss NWU internal
business, they should avoid posting confidential matter, as
there are no restrictions on who may read the message.
Subscribers should avoid one- or two-line posts of
congratulations or thanks. They are better sent privately.
Any post should contribute to the general discussion.
Do not post binary files. No graphics, sound clips or
proprietary word-processor output that cannot be displayed
in a human language by a generic ASCII text editor or
reader.
There may be very occasional retromoderating by Vicki
Richman <nwufaq@vicric.com> and her associates or their
successors to remove what they consider a fraudulent or
specious appeal for funds directed to many disparate
newsgroups. They shall also remove binary files. They shall
try to resist the temptation to delete other useless,
frivolous, fraudulent, mean-spirited, mindless or irrelevant
ads and announcements, and they urge posters not to lead
them into the hubris of their anti-libertarian impulses.
Writers know how to make a telling point without noise.
The NWU Mail-List
nwu-chat
The electronic mail-list nwu-chat is a _pro bono_
contribution to the online writing community from the
National Writers Union (NWU). All writers, editors,
researchers, digital programmers, multimedia artists, Web
authors and designers, literary agents, publishers, civil
libertarians and trade unionists are invited to
subscribe. There is no pressure or obligation to join
the NWU, but subscribers should expect NWU members to be
in the majority.
The list nwu-chat is on the daily business of writing and
union activities. In contrast to the Usenet newsgroup
alt.union.natl-writers, the mail-list nwu-chat is largely
an official organ of the National Writers Union and of
its locals, and is more likely to reflect policies and
agenda of activists and leaders.
The list nwu-chat is also on overcoming the political
challenges faced by writers, as censorship, copyright law
and retaliation against the written word. It is also a
forum for writers of color and of the
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered community.
The list is unmoderated.
o Subscriptions and Information
Mail to:
nwu-chat-subscribe@igc.topica.com
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* *
* NATIONAL WRITERS UNION *
* UAW Local 1981 AFL/CIO *
* *
* http://www.nwu.org/nwu@nwu.org *
* *
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* 113 University Place, 6th Floor 337 17th Street, Suite 101 *
* New York NY 10003 Oakland CA 94612 *
* 212.254.0279 voice 510.839.0110 voice *
* 212.254.0673 fax 510.839.6097 fax *
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* Freedom is something people take. . . ." *
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